Sirat Ibn Hisham 57
What is mentioned in the Qur'an about the story of the elephant and b. Hisham's explanation of its terms
[ مَا ذُكِرَ فِي الْقُرْآنِ عَنْ قِصَّةِ الْفِيلِ، وَشَرْحُ ابْنِ هِشَامٍ لِمُفْرَدَاتِهِ ] قَالَ ابْنُ إسْحَاقَ: فَلَمَّا بَعَثَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى مُحَمَّدًا ﷺ كَانَ مِمَّا يَعُدُّ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُرَيْشٍ مِنْ نِعْمَتِهِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَفَضْلِهِ، مَا رَدَّ عَنْهُمْ مِنْ أَمْرِ الْحَبَشَةِ لِبَقَاءِ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمُدَّتِهِمْ، فَقَالَ اللَّهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى: أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ فَعَلَ رَبُّكَ بِأَصْحَابِ الْفِيلِ أَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ كَيْدَهُمْ فِي تَضْلِيلٍ وَأَرْسَلَ عَلَيْهِمْ طَيْرًا أَبَابِيلَ تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِنْ سِجِّيلٍ فَجَعَلَهُمْ كَعَصْفٍ مَأْكُولٍ وَقَالَ: لِإِيلَافِ قُرَيْشٍ إِيلَافِهِمْ رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ فَلْيَعْبُدُوا رَبَّ هَذَا الْبَيْتِ الَّذِي أَطْعَمَهُمْ مِنْ جُوعٍ وَآمَنَهُمْ مِنْ خَوْفٍ أَيْ لِئَلَّا يُغَيِّرَ شَيْئًا مِنْ حَالِهِمْ الَّتِي كَانُوا عَلَيْهَا، لِمَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهِمْ مِنْ الْخَيْرِ لَوْ قَبِلُوهُ. قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: الْأَبَابِيلُ: الْجَمَاعَاتُ، وَلَمْ تَتَكَلَّمْ لَهَا الْعَرَبُ بِوَاحِدِ عَلِمْنَاهُ. وَأَمَّا السِّجِّيلُ، فَأَخْبَرَنِي يُونُسُ النَّحْوِيُّ وَأَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ أَنَّهُ عِنْدَ الْعَرَبِ: الشَّدِيدُ الصُّلْبُ قَالَ رُؤْبَةُ بْنُ الْعَجَّاجِ:: وَمَسَّهُمْ مَا مَسَّ أَصْحَابَ الْفِيلْ تَرْمِيهِمْ حِجَارَةٌ مِنْ سِجِّيلْ وَلَعِبَتْ طَيْرٌ بِهِمْ أَبَابِيلْ وَهَذِهِ الْأَبْيَاتُ فِي أُرْجُوزَةٍ لَهُ. ذَكَرَ بَعْضُ الْمُفَسِّرِينَ أَنَّهُمَا كَلِمَتَانِ بِالْفَارِسِيَّةِ، جَعَلَتْهُمَا الْعَرَبُ كَلِمَةً وَاحِدَةً، وَإِنَّمَا هُوَ سَنْجٌ وَجَلٌّ يَعْنِي بِالسَّنْجِ: الْحَجَرَ، وَالْجَلُّ: الطِّينَ. يَعْنِي: الْحِجَارَةُ مِنْ هَذَيْنِ الْجِنْسَيْنِ: الْحَجَرِ وَالطِّينِ. وَالْعَصْفُ: وَرَقُ الزَّرْعِ الَّذِي لَمْ يُقَصَّبْ، وَوَاحِدَتُهُ عَصْفَةٌ. قَالَ: وَأَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو عُبَيْدَةَ النَّحْوِيُّ أَنَّهُ يُقَالُ لَهُ: الْعُصَافَةُ وَالْعَصِيفَةُ. وَأَنْشَدَنِي لِعَلْقَمَةَ بْنِ عَبَدَةَ أَحَدِ بَنِي رَبِيعَةَ بْنِ مَالِكِ بْنِ زَيْدِ بْنِ مَنَاةَ بْنِ تَمِيمٍ:: تَسْقَى مَذَانِبَ قَدْ مَالَتْ عَصِيفَتُهَا حَدُورُهَا مَنْ أَتَّى الْمَاءَ مَطْمُومُ وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ. وَقَالَ الرَّاجِزُ: فَصُيِّرُوا مِثْلَ كَعَصْفِ مَأْكُولِ قَالَ ابْنُ هِشَامٍ: وَلِهَذَا الْبَيْتِ تَفْسِيرٌ فِي النَّحْوِ. وَإِيلَافُ قُرَيْشٍ: إيلَافُهُمْ الْخُرُوجَ إلَى الشَّامِ فِي تِجَارَتِهِمْ، وَكَانَتْ لَهُمْ خَرْجَتَانِ: خَرْجَةٌ فِي الشِّتَاءِ وَخَرْجَةٌ فِي الصَّيْفِ. أَخْبَرَنِي أَبُو زَيْدٍ الْأَنْصَارِيُّ، أَنَّ الْعَرَبَ تَقُولُ: أَلِفْتُ الشَّيْءَ إلْفًا، وَآلَفْتُهُ إيلَافًا، فِي مَعْنًى وَاحِدٍ وَأَنْشَدَنِي لِذِي الرُّمَّةِ: مِنْ الْمُؤْلِفَاتِ الرُّمْلَ أَدْمَاءُ حُرَّةٌ شُعَاعُ الضُّ حَى فِي لَوْنِهَا يَتَوَضَّحُ وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ. وَقَالَ مَطْرُودُ بْنُ كَعْبٍ الْخُزَاعِيُّ: الْمُنْعِمِينَ إذَا النُّجُومُ تَغَيَّرَتْ وَالظَّاعِنِينَ لِرِحْلَةِ الْإِيلَافِ وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ فِي أَبْيَاتٍ لَهُ سَأَذْكُرُهَا فِي مَوْضِعهَا إنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى. وَالْإِيلَافُ أَيْضًا: أَنْ يَكُونَ لِلْإِنْسَانِ أَلْفٌ مِنْ الْإِبِلِ، أَوْ الْبَقَرِ، أَوْ الْغَنَمِ، أَوْ غَيْرِ ذَلِكَ. يُقَالُ: آلَفَ فُلَانٌ إيلَافًا. قَالَ الْكُمَيْتُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ، أَحَدُ بَنِي أَسْدِ بْنِ خُزَيْمَةَ بْنِ مُدْرِكَةَ بْنِ إلْيَاسَ بْنِ مُضَرَ بْنِ نِزَارِ بْنِ مَعَدِّ:: بِعَامٍ يَقُولُ لَهُ الْمُؤْلِفُونَ هَذَا الْمُعِيمُ لَنَا الْمُرْجِلُ وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ. وَالْإِيلَافُ أَيْضًا: أَنْ يَصِيرَ الْقَوْمُ أَلْفًا، يُقَالُ آلَفَ الْقَوْمُ إيلَافًا قَالَ الْكُمَيْتُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ:: وَآلُ مُزَيقياء غَدَاةَ لَاقَوْا بَنِي سَعْدِ بْنِ ضَبَّةَ مُؤْلِفِينَا وَهَذَا الْبَيْتُ فِي قَصِيدَةٍ لَهُ. وَالْإِيلَافُ أَيْضًا: أَنْ تُؤَلِّفَ الشَّيْءَ إلَى الشَّيْءِ فَيَأْلَفُهُ وَيَلْزَمُهُ، يُقَالُ: آلَفْتُهُ إيَّاهُ إيلَافًا. وَالْإِيلَافُ أَيْضًا: أَنْ تَصِيرَ مَا دُونَ الْأَلْفِ أَلْفًا، يُقَالُ: آلَفْتُهُ إيلَافًا
Translation
✧ [What is mentioned in the Qur'an about the story of the elephant, and Ibn Hisham's explanation of its individual terms] Ibn Isḥāq said: When Allah, exalted is He, sent Muḥammad ﷺ, it was among the favors of Allah upon Quraysh and His grace toward them, which He enumerated to them, that He repelled from them the affair of the Abyssinians for the continuance of their affair and their appointed term. So Allah, blessed and exalted is He, said: "Have you not seen how your Lord dealt with the companions of the elephant? Did He not make their cunning go astray? And He sent upon them birds in flocks, pelting them with stones of baked clay, and made them like devoured stubble." And He said: "For the security of Quraysh—their security for the winter and summer journey—so let them worship the Lord of this House, who fed them against hunger and secured them against fear," that is, lest He change anything of their state upon which they were, because of the good Allah intended for them, if they would accept it. Ibn Hishām said: al-abābīl means 'the groups,' and the Arabs did not speak a singular for it that we know. As for sijjīl, Yūnus al-Naḥwī and Abū ʿUbaydah informed me that it is, among the Arabs, 'the severe, hard.' Ruʾbah ibn al-ʿAjjāj said: And there touched them what touched the companions of the elephant, Pelting them with stones of sijjīl, And birds played with them in flocks. These verses are in a rajaz poem of his. Some of the commentators mentioned that they are two words in Persian, which the Arabs made into one word; it is only sanj and jall—meaning by sanj 'the stone,' and jall 'the clay.' That is, the stones are of these two kinds: stone and clay. And al-ʿaṣf is the leaf of the crop that has not formed a stalk, and its singular is ʿaṣfah. He said: Abū ʿUbaydah al-Naḥwī informed me that it is called al-ʿuṣāfah and al-ʿaṣīfah. He recited to me from ʿAlqamah ibn ʿAbadah, one of the Banū Rabīʿah ibn Mālik ibn Zayd ibn Manāh ibn Tamīm: It waters channels whose leaves have bent; Their downward slope—whoever comes to the water is filled up. This verse is in a poem of his. And the rajaz poet said: So they were made like devoured stubble. Ibn Hishām said: For this verse there is an explanation in grammar. And īlāf Quraysh means their īlāf of going out to Syria in their trade. They had two journeys: a journey in winter and a journey in summer. Abū Zayd al-Anṣārī informed me that the Arabs say: aliftu al-shayʾ ilfan, and ālaftuhu īlāfan, with one meaning. He recited to me from Dhū al-Rummah: Of those that frequent the sand—a dusky free woman, The rays of the forenoon in her color become clear. This verse is in a poem of his. And Maṭrūd ibn Kaʿb al-Khuzāʿī said: The benefactors when the stars change, And the departing ones for the journey of the īlāf. This verse is in verses of his which I will mention in their place, if Allah, exalted is He, wills. And al-īlāf also means that a man has a thousand—of camels, or cattle, or sheep, or other than that. It is said: ālafa fulānun īlāfan. Al-Kumayt ibn Zayd, one of the Banū Asad ibn Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah ibn Ilyās ibn Muḍar ibn Nizār ibn Maʿadd, said: In a year of which the muʾlifūn say, This is the abundant one for us, the curd-maker. This verse is in a poem of his. And al-īlāf also means that a people become a thousand. It is said: ālafa al-qawmu īlāfan. Al-Kumayt ibn Zayd said: And the family of Muzayqiyāʾ on the morning they met Banū Saʿd ibn Ḍabbah, being muʾlifīn. This verse is in a poem of his. And al-īlāf also means that you join a thing to another thing, and it becomes attached to it and keeps to it. It is said: ālaftuhu iyyāhu īlāfan. And al-īlāf also means that you make what is less than a thousand into a thousand. It is said: ālaftuhu īlāfan.
Grades by grader
No grade is recorded for this wording.